Microsoft is changing the way Copilot works on Windows again. After making Copilot a Progressive Web App (PWA) earlier this year, Microsoft has released an update for Windows testers that replaces the PWA version of Copilot with a native version, with new keyboard shortcuts and a quick view interface.
The new Quick View for Copilot floats above the taskbar, similar to the new Companion apps that Microsoft is currently testing for files, contacts, and calendar entries. The Quick View can be accessed with the new Alt+Space shortcut or through the system tray. The Quick View doesn’t do anything special, but it appears above all other apps and stays at the top until you return Copilot to the taskbar or press Alt+Space again.
The new keyboard shortcut can be a bit tricky, depending on which apps you use. Other programs already use the Alt+Space key combination, and it looks like they’ll be fighting Copilot for control. “For all programs installed on your computer that can use this keyboard shortcut, Windows will register the program that starts first on your computer and runs in the background as the program that is called when you use Alt + Space,” says Microsoft.
I’m not sure why Microsoft decided to move Copilot to this Alt + Space shortcut when it previously reused the Windows + C shortcut with Cortana in Windows Copilot before moving it to the web app level and ditching the shortcut in favor of a dedicated key for Copilot. Microsoft even says that “Copilot will continue to explore options related to keyboard shortcuts for the app,” which certainly sounds like the AI assistant is suddenly in charge at Microsoft.
The new keyboard shortcuts and quick view for Copilot will also be available on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers, despite Microsoft’s insistence that Windows 10 will indeed end support in October 2025. Microsoft resumed beta testing of new Windows 10 features earlier this year to “make sure everyone can get the most out of their current Windows computer.”
The Copilot feature originally appeared in Windows 11 last year as Windows Copilot, integrated into the operating system as a sidebar that could appear in all programs. Microsoft then made Copilot less useful in its new Copilot Plus computers by reducing the app to a basic web application. Microsoft claims this latest version is a “native version,” but it’s still just a web-based version of Copilot wrapped in a slightly more native implementation.
